Key Updates on the King Street Resurfacing Project

Latest Updates...

June 17, 2022

Thanks to mostly dry weather and expedient work by the contractor, the King Street resurfacing project is nearly complete. Work has concluded for the week and nearly all of the roadway has been resurfaced and striped for traffic control and parking access. Work will resume Sunday night at 6pm and has a strong chance of being completed by the end of next week, as long as Mother Nature continues to cooperate. Thank you to the Town of Boone, Maymead, and NCDOT for working quickly to complete this project and provide such a smooth surface for locals and visitors to use in this important area.

Speaking of King Street, we join the rest of the community in our anticipation of the Boonerang Music Festival, which begins tonight at the Jones House and will feature music, vendors, and great food and drinks across downtown all day Saturday.

Listen to more details about the festival on this episode of Mind Your Business.

Read here about downtown road closures associated with the festival.

June 10, 2022

As we shared last week, the North Carolina Department of Transportation is working with a local contractor on a planned milling and resurfacing of King Street through Downtown Boone. Below are some key updates on the project:

• Work is finished for this week and all milling work has been completed as scheduled.
• With no work scheduled for the next two nights, traffic and parking will not be interrupted during the upcoming High Country Jazz Festival, or any other events this weekend. Temporary lines have been painted on the roadway to assist with traffic.
• Work will resume and resurfacing is planned to begin, weather permitting, Sunday night (6/12) at 6PM. Work will continue in the same 6PM-6AM window throughout the week (Sunday evening-Friday morning). 

Remember, scheduled work is weather dependent. NCDOT and their contractor were able to take advantage of the dry weather last week to start and remain on schedule with the project. Hopefully Mother Nature will provide similar conditions next week and we will be able to remain on target for a newly resurfaced and remarked King Street before the of the month.

June 2, 2022

Over the holiday weekend, the North Carolina Department of Transportation issued a press release about the upcoming milling and resurfacing of King Street through Downtown Boone. 

This type of work is an inconvenience at anytime, especially when work is to begin on relatively short notice. The closure of parking and traffic on one of the High Country’s busiest thoroughfares is further compounded during our busy summer tourism season.

However, the finished product will include a fresh surface and new markings from curb to curb and with cooperation from Mother Nature, the project should move along quickly and provide a long-lasting roadway for this area.

After reaching out to NCDOT, the Town of Boone, and the contractor performing the work, here are some important considerations for operations in the area for the next few weeks. Please know that progress of the project and all plans surrounding the project are weather dependent. 

• Beginning this Sunday evening (June 5), parking operations will be blocked off in impacted areas at 6:00PM each worknight (Sun-Thurs), with work scheduled to start each evening by 7:00PM. Road work will conclude by 6:00AM each workday. No work will be performed from 6:00AM Friday morning through 6:00PM Sunday night during this project.
• King Street parking will be allowed from 6:00AM to 6:00PM each day. It will be an active construction area and parking lines will be minimal at best, but customers will be able to park in the metered areas during the day.
• Parking will be prohibited past 6:00 PM in areas designated for work that evening. If an area is clear of work crews and staging for the night’s activity, parking will be allowed in that area past 6:00 PM.
• Town of Boone controlled lots (Town Hall, Howard Street, Queen Street) are open for free public parking at 5:00PM each day. The Town suggests Queen Street parking as an alternative for evening parking while King Street parking is interrupted. 
• Milling is set to begin near the intersection of Poplar Grove Connector and US 421 (King Street) and will proceed east toward Hardin Street. The entire east-bound lane will be milled first, followed by the west-bound lane. This will take several nights to complete this part of the project. Please note the sequence or direction they proceed may change due to in-field adjustments.
• Once milling is complete, the road will resurfaced and new lane markings and parking lines will be installed.
• The project should take a minimum of 1.5 weeks from start to finish, assuming weather is perfect during that entire window. A realistic expectation is that the work is complete by the last week of June.
• US 421 is a US highway, meaning work is coordinated by NCDOT through a local contractor. The Town of Boone is working in consultation with both parties to minimize impacts to the best of their ability. Please contact the Downtown Boone Development Association directly with any parking-related questions during this time.

All parties realize this is an inconvenience and are quickly pointing toward an improved surface for one of our most traveled thoroughfares. NCDOT has numerous active resurfacing projects in our area, and timing of projects like this is often dictated by how quickly the preceding project can be completed.

NCDOT and the contractor are aware of expected traffic, customer, and event volumes in these areas during this window, and have each stated they will work as quickly as possible to complete this work.

Thank you for your patience and understanding during this project. Please reach out should you have any further questions.

Click here to read press release from NC DOT.